Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus for cutting a plate-shaped workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer with a cutting blade.
Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, a cutting apparatus having a rotatable circular cutting blade mounted on the end of a spindle has been used as an apparatus for dividing a plate-shaped workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate, or a resin substrate into device chips. The cutting blade cuts the plate-shaped workpiece while being rotated at a high speed by the spindle. One problem with the cutting blade is that while in use it tends to be loaded with cutting dust produced from the workpiece being cut and deposited on the cutting edge thereof, resulting in a reduction in its cutting capability. According to a solution to the problem, a dressing process is performed to remove the loading material from the cutting blade by having it cut into a dresser board during an interval between cutting sessions (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2000-49120).